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Dennis Sheldon: Leading a Plush Life in Logistics
It’s no wonder Dennis Sheldon gets all warm and fuzzy about his job. Since May, he has been deep into plush and stuffing in his role as managing director, logistics for St. Louis-based Build-A-Bear Workshop. Build-A-Bear Workshop gives visitors the chance to make their own teddy bears or other toy animals. Customers stuff and sew […]
Read MoreMasao Nishi: Managing One Big Network
SYSCO Corporation’s supply chain is undergoing a major transformation, and Masao Nishi stands right in the middle of it. The $30-billion food service distributor recently promoted Nishi to assistant vice president of supply chain management, responsible for the flow of product from suppliers to approximately 70 SYSCO broadline operating companies in the United States. Nishi […]
Read MoreJames Carlin: A Strong Man for the Job
When a construction worker on a job site drops a hammer, and no one on the street below gets hurt, James Carlin is one person to thank. His company, Strong Man Building Products Corp., Fairfield, N.J., distributes tarpaulin and netting used in construction, including the huge nets contractors drape over scaffolding to protect their job […]
Read MoreBryan Goins: It’s All About the Execution
In 1994, Bryan Goins joined Associated Food Stores (AFS) to help re-engineer major business processes at the Salt Lake City-based grocery distribution cooperative. It was not an easy transition. ” I went home almost every day for one year asking myself, ‘What have I done?’” Goins says. Goins spent the previous 18 years at Ryder […]
Read MoreYolande Burnham: Grains, Trains and Supply Chains
Years ago, Yolande Burnham managed shipments of durham wheat, corn, and other grains. Today, rail lines that haul those commodities depend on Burnham’s employer—Union Switch & Signal (US&S), Pittsburgh,Pa.—for the systems they need to operate efficiently and safely. Burnham is vice president, global supply chain and manufacturing for US&S, a leading manufacturer of signaling, automation, […]
Read MoreFred Walker: Logistics at the Speed of Life
In his first job after high school, at a Sears Roebuck catalog warehouse, Fred Walker spent his days on roller skates. “We used to skate into a huge elevator to get to the building’s various floors,” recalls Walker. “We picked items, took them back to our tables, and packed them for shipping.” The eight-story building […]
Read MoreKen Bailey: Logistics Fun-damentals
“Selling fun” is the main priority at Leisure Bay Industries, says Ken Bailey, the company’s vice president of operations. Since 1998, Bailey has been in charge of moving the furniture of fun—above-ground pools, portable spas, billiard tables, tanning beds, gas grills, and patio furniture—from Leisure Bay’s Orlando, Fla., distribution center into retail outlets. Those include […]
Read MoreWayne Thompson: Different Spokes
The path to Wayne Thompson’s logistics success began in the jungle. Fresh out of college, he took a job conducting helicopter surveys for a mining firm. As project manager, Thompson directed the movement of equipment in and out of field locations in Africa, Asia, and South America, handling documentation and arranging security clearances. When the […]
Read MoreBradley Morris: Change Gets Under Your Skin
One thing that never changes for Brad Morris is the need to manage change. When he joined NuSkin Enterprises as warehouse supervisor in 1988, the company had annual revenues of $50 million, and shipped 150 orders a day, nearly all to U.S. customers. Today, NuSkin is a $1.1-billion enterprise with customers in 39 markets worldwide. […]
Read MoreCheri McCaslin: She’s Got Game
Cheri McCaslin first gained a taste for logistics when she taught herself to run a transportation brokerage. A few months into her job at a local delivery service in St. Louis, the company earned its brokerage authority. “The company decided it needed someone to start the brokerage,” McCaslin says, “and they handed the job to […]
Read MoreDave Moynihan: A Toast to Streamlined Sourcing
To achieve a successful supply chain career, Dave Moynihan believes it’s important not to get comfortable too soon. Young people entering the field, he says, should “jump around to different industries, gain experiences, and work in different departments” to acquire the deep and broad understanding they’ll need for leadership. Moynihan gained this insight first-hand. Starting […]
Read MoreDrew Alexander: Building Logic and Discipline Into the Supply Chain
You could say Drew Alexander grew up with Wal-Mart. As a boy in Bentonville, Ark., he worked at a local pancake house where Sam Walton sometimes ate. “I never got a tip from Sam,” he says. Throughout his teens, he loaded trucks at a Wal-Mart distribution center. And he later took a job in the […]
Read MorePeter Kelly: Engineering A Nimble Response
Imagine each of your customers requires an entirely customized product. It take eight weeks to make, but when buyers need to replenish their supplies, they want to place orders today and take delivery tomorrow. Keep too little on hand and you’ll upset your market. But “if I have the wrong ones in stock, I run […]
Read MoreMarilyn Necak: Making Freight Pay
For Marilyn Necak, success lies in the details. In her job as disbursement manager for General Electric’s Client Business Services Inc. (CBSI), she monitors the service providers that handle freight payments and accounts payable to make sure they process each invoice correctly and hold vendors to the terms of their contracts. More and more, she […]
Read MoreCurtis Brewer: Master of the Schedule
As he works toward his MBA, it’s no wonder Curtis Brewer focuses on international logistics. Since his days as a college intern, Brewer has kept his eye on the supply chain challenges inherent in global trade. In fact, his biggest career challenge so far came during that internship, when a customer’s needs collided with a […]
Read MoreJohn Gilmour: Going With the Flow
Change is inevitable; flow with it,” says John Gilmour, citing one of the mottos that guide his career. Named vice president of distribution and logistics at Musicland Group in January, Gilmour has been managing the flow for the national retailer during a particularly intense period of change. A former unit of Best Buy Co., Musicland […]
Read MoreDaniel Pigott: A Chemical Equation That Produces Profits
With the new Hours of Service rules in effect, truck capacity is at the top of everyone’s mind, says Daniel Pigott, director of NAFTA distribution for BASF Corp., BASF Canada, and BASF Mexicana in Orange, Conn. One of Pigott’s major accomplishments during his years in logistics has been developing a command center to help the […]
Read MoreBruce Cutler: Selling Style, Price and Global Expertise
In the mid 1990s at Compaq Computer, Bruce Cutler crossed the gap between international marketing and international logistics. “I didn’t have logistics experience, but I knew the people in the subsidiaries, and I knew how to run a project in multiple countries,” he says. His first logistics assignment sent Cutler and a small team to […]
Read MoreRobert Swanson: Developing Colleagues with Passion
Robert Swanson’s first employer helped put him through college while he worked. Today, at Pfizer Global Research and Development Michigan Labs, Swanson is paying that favor forward, not with tuition assistance, but with extensive on-the-job training. A major part of Swanson’s mission is to help the people in his organization live out “the passion to […]
Read MoreKim Brown: Keeping the Home Fires Burning
When work goes well for Kim Brown, people stay warm. Brown’s company, Hearth and Home Technologies, manufactures stoves, fireplaces and related products for home heating. As materials manager at the Lake City, Minn., plant, she’s responsible for getting materials to the production line and transporting finished goods to distributors and direct customers. Like many supply […]
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